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Penn State football’s Big Ten Conference win probability takes a slight hit

By Justin Grasso

ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 01: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions rallies his team prior to the VRBO Citrus Bowl against the Kentucky Wildcats at Camping World Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 01: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions rallies his team prior to the VRBO Citrus Bowl against the Kentucky Wildcats at Camping World Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football is one of the top teams in the Big Ten Conference, but what’re the chances they get the opportunity to play for the title?

With Penn State football having the weekend off, we all had the opportunity to sit back and watch some other Big Ten Conference matchups unfold. Obviously, the focal point for Penn State was going to be on the Michigan versus Wisconsin matchup early on Saturday.

Considering that Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin were the top four programs in the Big Ten as of Saturday morning, it only made sense to highlight the Badgers versus the Wolverines matchup. And man oh man, was it a lopsided one.

Michigan’s struggles were evident earlier on in the season. Especially during their matchup against Army, which required overtime to settle. Many chalked that up as just a rough afternoon in Anne Arbor, but Michigan is genuinely a struggling football team right now. And Wisconsin exposed that.

Initially, Wisconsin was tied with the Nittany Lions at No. 13 heading into that matchup. But after their big-time win, they cracked the top ten while Michigan took a steep climb back into the 20’s range. So with the AP Poll changing its ways; so did the ESPN Football Power Index numbers.

Going into the season, Penn State was the second-favorite team to win the Big Ten before their matchup with Idaho. But after some early concerns against inferior teams, they saw that number decrease. As of last week, Penn State’s conference win percentage was 8.6-percent.

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Now with the emergence of Wisconsin, Penn State’s percentage takes another slight hit. Suddenly, they are listed at 6.5-percent. Wisconsin sees a substantial jump to 38.3-percent while Ohio State remains the favorites with more than 55-percent of a chance to win the conference title. Conference play won’t be a walk in the park moving forward, but seeing Michigan get exposed is definitely a promising turn of events for the Nittany Lions moving forward.

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